


Under a Southern Sky

by twinkrevali



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Star Gazing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-13
Updated: 2016-06-13
Packaged: 2018-07-14 20:06:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,406
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7188218
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twinkrevali/pseuds/twinkrevali
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p></p><blockquote>
  <p><br/>It’s mid-December and the cicadas are singing through the heat beating down on the city. They’ve had the trip planned for months, and now that the weather is permitting they’re ready to go.<br/></p>
</blockquote>
            </blockquote>





	Under a Southern Sky

**Author's Note:**

> This is my contribution for the Australian-made fanzine "Our Summer" which you can dl [here](https://twitter.com/oz_hqfanbook/status/741921163249487873) !! Thank you so much to Emelia, San, Kukkii and Ivy for working so hard while this project has been in development! Please go through the rest of the fanbook if you feel so inclined, it's a fantastic collab and I'm super grateful that I've been able to be a part of it!
> 
> I hope u enjoy the fic ♡\꒰˘̩̩̩⌣˘̩̩̩๑꒱

It’s mid-December and the cicadas are singing through the heat beating down on the city. Kuroo and Kenma are shuffling from one patch of shade to another, hissing against the heat as they make their way to the station, suitcases in tow. 

They’ve had the trip planned for months, and now that the weather is permitting they’re ready to go.

“It’s pretty cool that Bokuto’s uncle lets us stay at his house while he’s overseas, huh,” Kuroo muses as they move along the street, tilting his head back against the sun warming his face.

“I wonder if we’ll get there before the show starts,” Kenma replies, shielding his eyes to look up at his companion. The rest of the walk is quiet—the pair trying to conserve energy by not talking through the heat—and they arrive at the station with red faces and damp brows.

They walk into the station hub to buy their tickets, looking out for their friends when suddenly Kuroo feels a weight hit his back, launching him forward in a stumbling attempt to regain his balance. When he’s comfortably back on his feet he turns to face the perpetrator, eyes shining as they fall onto a mop of grey hair, limp from the heat.

“My dude,” Kuroo grins, and Bokuto returns the gesture with a smile so bright Kuroo ponders briefly whether the guy has a part of the sun residing inside his chest.

“We were worried you weren’t gonna make it!” Bokuto crows, and Kenma flashes a small smile hello at Akaashi, who nods back with fond eyes.

“You’re the only one who was worried,” Akaashi deadpans before ushering the group into the queue for ticket purchases. The station is almost as warm inside as it is outside, and the four of them sigh at the rickety fan blowing hot air around the space before the clerk summons them to the front desk.

They buy their tickets one after the other, moving out onto the platform and huddling into the sliver of shade provided by the outdoors shelter. The station is quiet today; with would-be commuters opting to stay in and chew ice rather than brave the unyielding summer heat.

“It’s too hot,” Bokuto laments, dropping into a crouch and grimacing as they wait.

“The train won’t be long now,” Akaashi soothes, and Kuroo huffs out a laugh at the figure squatting at his feet. Less than a minute after Akaashi spoke the familiar rumble announcing their train’s arrival rocks them to attention, weight of the carriage making the station platform shake as the train squeals to a stop. As the doors slide open the group is hit with a blast of icy air, and they scramble to find shelter inside the carriage, showing the inspector their tickets hurriedly.

“In a rush, are we?” the inspector quips, eyebrow raised, and the four of them nod their heads, eager to seek shelter in the air-conditioned space.

They find their compartment with relative ease, shoving their bags into the overhead lockers as the train gets ready to leave. When they’ve finally settled, the heavy groan of the train signifies the beginning of the journey, whistle blowing as the train departs.

They spend the ride in companionable silence until Bokuto produces a pack of playing cards, wagging his eyebrows unceremoniously at Akaashi.

“No,” Akaashi answers, and Bokuto's face drops immediately.

“C'mon, just one game,” he laments when Akaashi's expression doesn't change.

“Last time we played you made me pull the joker out of your hand and laughed about it for an hour. By yourself.”

Kuroo sits back, watching them go back and forth with one another and snickering as Bokuto whines.

“C'mon Akaashi, one game won't hurt,” he reasons, and Akaashi feels his resolve weaken at the sight of both Bokuto _and_ Kuroo putting on their best puppy-dog faces.

“Kenma are you playing?” he sighs, quickly hushing the other two's cheers as he realises their companion has fallen asleep, chiptune battle music floating out of the console resting in his lap.

“This is a quiet game,” he says to Kuroo and Bokuto warningly, and they nod together, looking over at Kenma’s sleeping figure affectionately. The game proceeds almost silently, Bokuto visibly biting his tongue whenever Akaashi takes a favourable card from his hand. They end it with Kuroo drawing the last card—glaring at his hand in disappointment—and when they turn to check on Kenma, he’s yawning himself awake, glancing at the three of them before turning his focus back to his console with a small frown.

“You didn’t need to be so quiet during your game,” he says, “I was only resting my eyes.”

The remainder of the journey is spent with them chatting quietly amongst themselves; Akaashi helping Kenma work his way through a particularly difficult dungeon, and Bokuto recounting the last time he was at his uncle's house with Kuroo.

Just as the four of them are about to fall prey to travel-induced lethargy, the overhead speakers crackle with the announcement of their approaching destination, shaking the weariness out of their systems as they look out of their window excitedly. The landscape has shifted from the urban industrialism of the city to open fields of bright canola flowers and grazing cattle; glittering fragments of the Milky Way becoming more prominent as the sun begins to sink.

The train pulls into their station before shuddering to a stop, the stationmaster’s voice ringing out against the sounds of the countryside. The weather outside is still warm, and the change of air settles against their skin comfortably as they make their way to Bokuto’s uncle’s house. It’s only a short walk, and when they reach the house they step inside, gingerly placing their bags down and flopping onto the couch with a collective sigh.

“Uncle said there’s frozen food in the freezer but I thought maybe we can go net some yabbies tomorrow for dinner,” Bokuto says, and his three companions offer varying sounds of agreement.

“So,” Akaashi turns to Kenma after a moment, who’s poring over his phone, “how long have we got?”

“About half an hour until the show is at it’s peak,” comes the answer, and the four of them jump into action, placing their bags in their respective rooms and pulling out the necessities for the night. When they’re all ready to go, they move out to the pasture attached to the back of the house, wandering around in the wild wheat before settling in a small patch of worn down hay.

“Have you got the blankets, Akaashi?” Kuroo asks, and Akaashi produces two large chequered picnic blankets from a tattered duffel, shaking them out before carefully placing them on the ground.

They see the first star fall as they’re squirming against each other in an attempt to find a comfortable spot on the blankets, heads resting against each other as they watch the sky. The meteor shower only happens once a year, and they haven’t missed it since Bokuto brought the idea up a few years before. As the night progresses, they watch the sky shift with bright eyes, pointing at spectacularly bright tails on the meteors and laughing at Bokuto’s wild stories of a childhood spent in the countryside. It’s a comfortable feeling, the four of them lying together, and they stay out in the pasture long after the shower has finished, trying to pick out constellations in the twinkling sea of lights above them.

“Y’know, I used to pretend they got the city lights from the stars that fell out of the sky,” Kuroo says, and Akaashi hums, shifting slightly so he’s facing Kuroo.

“I did too, until we starting coming out here,” he says. There's a pause, when suddenly their musing is interrupted by a snore, and when they turn towards the sound, they find Bokuto’s sleeping figure curled protectively around an equally asleep Kenma.

“Should we do something?” Kuroo chuckles, and Akaashi shakes his head, falling back against the blanket and closing his eyes.

“I think we’re fine here,” he yawns, and Kuroo hums in agreement, tucking his hands behind his head as he grins up at the sky.

They sleep in a pile under the stars; sweet smell of a sun-baked earth bathing their dreams in a warm glow.

It’s mid-December and the cicadas are still singing, but in the company of good friends suddenly the heat doesn't feel so suffocating anymore.

**Author's Note:**

> Any kind feedback is appreciated *(*´∀｀*)☆


End file.
